TRAGIC LAST TWIST
Pk. Slope kids-slay driver a ‘suicide’
The out-of-control driver charged with fatally running over two Park Slope toddlers last March, and causing the Broadway actress mom of one of them to lose her unborn child, died Tuesday of an apparent suicide, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
Dorothy Bruns, 44, was found dead in her Staten Island home by a friend late Tuesday afternoon, sources said.
Bottles of prescription pills and an apparent suicide note were found nearby.
Bruns suffered from multiple sclerosis and was prone to seizures. She’d been instructed by doctors not to drive but still got behind the wheel of her Volvo sedan on March 5 and ran through the intersection of Ninth Street near Fifth Avenue, killing Joshua Lew, 1, and Abigail Blumenstein, 4.
A baby’s shoe was among the debris scattered in the street at the scene of the horrific crash, and Joshua’s stroller was crushed under the car’s back wheels.
Both of the children’s mothers were also struck, and Abigail’s pregnant mom, Tony-winning star Ruthie Ann Miles, 35, later lost her near-term baby.
The other mom Lauren Lew, 33, tried frantically to revive her boy at the scene.
It took about two months after the crash for Bruns to be charged.
Mayor de Blasio lashed out at her, saying she should “never have been allowed to be driving a car” after racking a slew of offenses since 2016, including speeding in school zones and running red lights.
She told cops that she’d suffered a seizure, causing her to lose control of her car at
Her lawyer, David Jacobs, has said that Bruns drove a car for a company called ClearCaptions, which aids the hearing impaired and that her doctor gave her a letter “clearing her for regular activities.”
Bruns faced up to 15 years behind bars at trial on charges including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
While in custody, in June, Bruns was attacked by a fellow inmate, who punched her in the cafeteria on Rikers Island, her attorney said.
She was freed on $75,000 bond in September.
In her last court appearance Oct. 3, she rejected an offer of five to 15 years in jail for manslaughter.
She was due back in court on Nov. 20.